Home News

One in two people say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year. This was just one of the findings revealed during Big Energy Week from Citizens Advice.

The charity Citizens Advice (CA) said it helped clients with more than 96,000 fuel debt problems last year. It found that 40 per cent when asked are worried about paying their fuel bill.

British Gas boss thinks consumers will change the way they uses their energy Centrica, the company that owns British Gas, the largest supplier of gas in the UK, thinks that people are going to change the way in which they use energy this winter.

A House of Commons motion urging action on fuel prices was approved by MPs without a vote, but it is not binding on ministers. One of the MPs said the government should scrap a planned increase in fuel duty to help “hard-working, vulnerable Britons”. Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who tabled the motion, stated that the government must show it is one “that cuts taxes for millions of British people and not just for millionaires”.

An academic says rising energy bills are causing more fuel poverty deaths. Professor John Hills has called for a new definition of the issue, where people with low incomes are forced into poverty by high fuel bills. His report discovered that in 2004, fuel-poor households faced a shortfall of £256 to heat their homes and avoid poverty, but in 2009 the figure rose to £402.

A consumer watchdog has claimed many of the cheapest gas and electricity deals are ignored by energy companies when speaking to customers. Researchers at Which? called energy suppliers and asked for the cheapest deal. For example, telesales staff at Southern Electric (part of the Scottish and Southern Energy Group) mentioned the cheapest tariff in just three of the 12 calls. The firm replied there was little price difference between the tariffs, but accepted it could learn from some points raised.

Households have been encouraged to take additional measures including insulation to reduce their domestic fuel bills by organisations such as the Energy Saving Trust. According to Scottish Power’s website the average household will save £160 a year by installing loft and cavity wall insulation. This autumn the same company raised its gas price by 19% and electricity price by 10% – thus wiping out any savings.

The Energy Secretary says he is going to get tough on the big six energy companies. Talking to the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham, Chris Huhne also wants to help smaller companies get a share of the market. He said: “It is not fair that big energy companies can push their prices up for the vast majority of their consumers, who do not switch, while introducing cut-throat offers for new customers that stop small firms entering the market.”

Today (September 15, 2011) EDF Energy announced it will raise gas prices by 15.4% and electricity prices by 4.5% from November 10. The company stated that the annual cost of a standard dual-fuel bill paid for by direct debit would rise to £1,165 from £1,051.

A measure is being proposed to raise energy efficiency in UK households – raise the VAT on energy. A new report says the UK government’s policies on energy and climate change must be rethought. The report came from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD concluded that although current policies are resulting in some reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, they are not enough to meet longer term goals.

Another energy firm has revealed it will increase gas prices as from next month. Good Energy will leave electricity prices unchanged until at least 2012 because of its renewable energy generation, the company announced. Good Energy said it will lift gas prices by 9.4 per cent because of a sharp rise in wholesale gas prices, which has already caused four of Britain’s largest energy suppliers to put up tariffs this summer.

E.ON is the fourth energy company to announce a hike to its gas and electricity prices in the UK. Its electricity prices will rise by 11.4 per cent and gas costs will be up 18.1% from next month. E.ON has around five million customers but said almost 600,000 were unaffected by the rise, including its most vulnerable customers on WarmAssist tariffs. It has also guaranteed no more price increases for Age UK customers for at least a year.